Absence-Presence of Durham’s Black History Walking Tour Amidst Our Working Lives

Please join us for “Absence/Presence of Durham’s Black History Walking Tour” around Durham city centre followed by a roundtable with invited panellists. Our Project is also part of the Auditing Public Histories of Slavery Group.

Although the “Absence/Presence of Durham’s Black History Walking Tour” is self-guided and you are welcome to do it in your own time, we recommend you begin at the Galilee Chapel in Durham Cathedral at 12.30 pm where we will be able to offer logistical support including hard copy of the walking trail/maps if you need it.

We recommend that you bring headphones for the best experience and use WiFi to download the pdf of the walking trail and the audio tour outside the cathedral before you begin in order to save data. You can also download/print the PDF of the entire walking trail, a summarized map of it and audio recordings with each entry. You can either hear or read the entries to enable accessibility. Please allow 90 to 120 minutes for the walking trail to enable talks/listening/reading/ at each stop.

Monday 20th October, 3pm - 5pm: Roundtable:
A roundtable of invited panellists will be responding to the Black History Walking Tour at University College on Palace Green. Participants will have the chance to engage with the walking tour, and make comments and raise questions.

At each stop on the tour, you can read about/listen to Durham city centre’s (as well as beyond Durham city) link to enslavement, mining or colonialism as well as the lives of various minoritised individuals. Alongside, the trail also highlights broader “politically black” histories, including both historic and more contemporary experiences of other minority ethnic communities. In the process we are identifying histories which do not only consider black communities to be victims. 

The roundtable in the second half of the event will be led by panellists engaging with the walking tour and will give participants a chance to explore these themes through discussion and comments.
 

Dr Sol Gamsu (Sociology), Dr Liam Liburd (History) and Prof Nayanika Mookherjee (Anthropology), in collaboration with colleagues from Durham Cathedral.

Adults

Anyone with an in interest in the working lives of heritages, glocal (local and global) histories, cultures and communities of Durham and beyond.